AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Where is here? Where are we?” She looked around, and all around them were tall oaks and cypress trees. Well, she guesses that’s what they were. She’s not an arborist by any means. For all she knows, these could just be evergreens. Is that a kind of tree?
“At the very back of my family’s land. If you keep going down this road, you’ll get to a gate and the back of our cow pasture.
Stacey fell back against the seat and let out a deep breath. That’s right. His family’s land. His family had lots of money, and she was going to their property to be a part of a yearly fundraiser.
“Hey.” Tristan turned her toward him. “Yes, we have lots of property, horses, a heated pool, and a large house. Yes, you’ll be seeing lots of things that money bought.” He held her face. “I want you to feel comfortable there because I want you to be a part of my life. It’s only stuff, but we are real people, and my family is pretty great.” He placed a quick kiss on her lips, climbed back behind the wheel, and turned the truck around.
Stacey sat staring out the window, and she wiped her hands on her jeans.
Tristan had known her long enough that he knew she only did that when she was nervous. “Hey? Everything’s going to be okay.”
She just nodded and stared.
He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, wanting to kiss the nerves away. “My Aunt Elie and Uncle Don are going to love you. You’ll love them, too. Yes, they have money, but they’re so down to earth and real, and…” He stopped.
She was glancing at him out of the side of her eye.
He thought back to last night. What she said about the “Doctor Bitchy.” He should say something now. He stopped the truck before pulling onto the road.She’ll be mad when she finds out. It can’t be avoided all day. At some point…
“Tristan, what’s wrong?”
She had that innocent look on her face that always cut to his heart.Dammit, I can’t.He’ll wait. He’ll say something when they get there. Then she’ll be there and leaving won’t make sense. He shook his head and kissed her fingers again. “Nothing gorgeous.” His smile almost reached his ears.
He pulled off the road again, but this time, it was on asphalt. Well taken care of asphalt.
No way. Her eyes bulged. He stopped in front of a large black metal gate with a large black ‘W’ on it.
She turned to him as he pushed in numbers on a pad. “My birthdate, in case you ever need to get in.” He winked at her.
The gate slowly moved, opening toward them. “W?” His last name was Calhoun. She never asked what Adler’s name was.
“Warfield. Remember I told you my uncle owned Warfield meats?” He put his foot on the gas, and they drove through.
“Adler Warfield.” She made the connection. “That name fits him. It sounds like it would belong on a guy who thinks a lot of himself and is a womanizer.”
Tristan let out a deep laugh. “You say it like it’s a bad thing.”
“Isn’t it?”
His face was all fun. “Adler? No. Yeah, he thinks a lot of himself. Wait till you see where he grew up. But he’s not so tough. One day, a girl will get under that rough exterior and find out he’s a teddy bear waiting to be loved.”
That made Stacey laugh. Picturing the hard-headed, slightly conceited guy she sort-of knew compared with a cuddly teddy bear! Not in a million years.
Her laughter dried up quickly as they drove up this immaculate driveway. Every tree seemed to be planted with a purpose with rose bushes between them.
Everything perfect. Everything in its place.
Then the house came into view and her jaw dropped.
It was a sprawling mansion with an immense entrance onto the porch. The porch seemed to go on forever, and it wrapped around the side of the house out of view. She placed her hand on his leg.
Her eyes were huge, and her heart thumped widely. She thought she was going to hyperventilate. “Holy shit! You live here?”
Tristan stopped the car. She felt his hand on her cheek, but her eyes just roamed at what was in front of her. This house was immense. This house was amazing.
Behind it, from what she could see, the property just seemed to go on and on to the right. To the left, and following the driveway, there was a brick wall topped with more black iron and what seemed to be a nice brick ranch behind a three, no four-car garage.
Her lungs deflated.
